Food Storage

Yesterday we had a patient/relative (very distant- Bud's first cousin's grandson) give me a booklet on food storage. For most of you, that probably wouldn't get you excited, but for me, it did. Yes, I'm strange that way. It was compiled by his stake's Relief Society in Highland, UT, and it is totally awesome.
You know that you should be using and rotating your food storage, but did you know that to replace your storage in the recommended 3-yr. time, you need to be eating from your storage 2-3 times a week? Of course, that doesn't include everything in your storage because wheat lasts for a millennium, doesn't it? Well, practically.
I'd like you to consider the following challenge. Make a menu for one week totally using only your food storage. That's going to be hard for me because I don't cook every night of the week. But I think it's a cool challenge. Who's up for it? Besides, it's a great way to find out if your storage is lacking in a particular area. Right now, I know I need pineapple tidbits, powdered eggs and milk. Have you considered adding spice packets to your storage plan? Like sloppy joe mix or taco seasoning?
Another thing this book has in it is ways to use your food storage, complete with menus, including how to make yogurt, and Tootsie Rolls and canned butter. Doesn't this just make you so excited??? Don't you wish you had a copy of this booklet too?
A few recommended tips:

• Date everything. Keep a marker in the same place you store your food and mark the date it was purchased or the date it needs to be used by (just be consistent in how you mark it).
• Make your storage available. If it's under your bed, holding up your mattress, chances are good you won't be using it much.
• Rotate! Back to front or left to right, or one of these! My mom has several of these little babies (above) and I'm hoping she gives them to me when she outgrows them! Even better than those would be this...
  Wouldn't that be lovely? *Drool* Just use up the oldest stuff first.
  
• Keep a notebook (or some way to ledger) with your storage to record what you remove from your storage area so it can be replaced and establish a schedule for restocking.
• Learn from experience- If all the dried lima beans have never been touched, it's probably best to give them to the boy scouts on their next food drive and stock something more necessary (like chocolate chips???)

So who's up for the challenge of the week? A week's worth of eating nothing but food storage. Mmm.